Best Equestrian Camping near Carlsbad, NM

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Carlsbad, NM

92 Reviews of 4 Carlsbad Campgrounds

• 

  Chris H.

  Legend

  Nov. 23, 2021

  Carlsbad KOA

  Very clean and great staff

  This KOA was a great property in thy it was very clean and had a lot to offer for families with kids, and even adult only patrons. They had a really big “Rec Room” for kids and adults to play ping pong, or a video game. They also deliver food to your site, and they smoke their own BBQ on site! It’s less than an hour from Carlsbad Caverns, and only 15 minutes from Carlsbad proper, in case you need some supplies or want to go find a place to eat in town. The only downside to this place was the sulfur/propane smell from the gas/oil wells in the area, and the fact that there wasn’t much to block the wind.

• 

  Michael C.

  Legend

  Dec. 4, 2020

  Carlsbad KOA

  Very good services

  Excellent full service RV park. The hook ups are in excellent repair. This particular KOA offers hot food delivered to the sites in Lou of eating inside the facility. Despite the name, it is quite a hike from Carlsbad Caverns if that is your destination. It is very close to Beantly Lake and a very quiet setting. The pads are gravel but level. Excellent staff. Would stay again!

• 

  Amber J.

  Guide

  Jun. 4, 2018

  Carlsbad KOA

  Crowded, charming, typical KOA

  Crowded, charming, typical KOA. Located about 30 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Quaint store, great play room (super nice staff- left the playroom open for us an additional hour due to downpour!) Accommodated our family as our reservation was deleted and we had nowhere else to go! :) Great clean restrooms and showers.

• 

  Karen B.

  Guide

  Jun. 21, 2022

  Carlsbad KOA

  Great Communication!

  This KOA will start texting you in advance of your arrival, which I found a bit tedious, but it came in handy during our stay.

  Check in was simple and informative. The pool is open and was clean. It definitely came in handy during this heat!

  The campground is based about an hour away from Carlsbad Caverns, which worked for us so we could drop our rig and make the drive the next morning. Only about 20 minutes from the town of Carlsbad.

  On our second night, there was a wicked storm and we started heading loud booms. The park was thoughtful enough to text everyone after hours to reassure us that the pecan fields up the road use air cannons to prevent hail. Not sure about the effectiveness but was so glad to know what was happening.

  We would certainly return if we ever need full hook ups in the area.

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• C

  Celina M.

  Legend

  Jun. 11, 2018

  Carlsbad RV Park & Campground

  Closest Carlsbad Campground to the Caverns

  Let's start with the fact that there are few actually camping areas close to Carlsbad Caverns or Guadalupe National Park. Assuming travelers are coming to Carlsbad to see these great places, the location becomes a major player. Fine print: there is a small campground (absolutely no amenity campground) in Guadalupe National Park which is first-come, first-serve (aka: full), and there a campground in White's City--although having driven past it, I don't think I want to stay there.

  Carlsbad RV Park is primarily an RV Park. In fact, while we were there, they were bulldozing their only tent sites and I'm not sure if they are upgrading them or replacing them with more RV sites. So the "tent" site status is tentative. As with most RV Parks, the RVs are crammed in, side by side, and really the place is like an RV parking lot with amenities and hook-ups--but they do appear to be mostly pull through and the staff will show the way to go to pull through without hiccups. These are not spacious by any means. We stayed in one of two cabins, which were very reasonably priced, esp. when comparing to Carlsbad KOA. They even came with a cable and a fridge.

  The RV Park (like all of the RV Parks in Carlsbad) has overall become a residence for the oil field workers, so be prepared to try and sleep through the 4 a.m. traffic rush out of camp to oil field. However, the neighbors are pleasant and quiet to have, even if they must drive away before the roosters announce the coming of the sun.

  The park has gated access and we felt very safe during our stay. There is a playground that was being bulldozed with the tent site; I am unsure if it is being upgraded or eliminated. There is a camp store, a pool, a game room, showers (which were ok), laundry, a dishwashing sink, picnic tables at the cabins, and universal fire pit. Please note that I am inherently biased against parking lot style RV parks--so 2 stars from me for an RV Park is quite a compliment.

  Carlsbad RV Park and Carlsbad KOA direct comparison: we have stayed at both the Carlsbad KOA and the Carlsbad RV Park. The KOA is NOT actually in Carlsbad, and is over an hour away from Carlsbad Caverns and 30 minutes from town. On the other hand, the RV Park is at the southern end of town and only 30 minutes to the Caverns. While the KOA lots are more spacious, they offer no more and no fewer amenities than the RV Park…well the KOA sort-of offers meals but the RV Park is right in town, so delivery is an option. The basic, no frill KOA cabins cost double the RV Park charges. Additionally, the KOA staff was not as friendly or as helpful as the RV Park staff, imho.

  While in Carlsbad check out Fiesta Drive-In for one of America's few remaining drive-in movie theaters.

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• 

  John M.

  Guide

  Apr. 17, 2022

  Carlsbad RV Park & Campground

  Perfect location for Caverns

  A very nice campground with brand new bath houses. Nice laundry facilities. Gift store with ice cream, yes. Very convenient to Carlsbad Caverns National Park and to Carlsbad, New Mexico. Nice indoorheated pool and a family-friendly environment. Treats for your dog and several dog parks fort off leash fun. We managed to get one of these shaded sites for our pop-up trailer.

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  Nov. 16, 2022

  Dog Canyon Campground — Guadalupe Mountains National Park

  Remote campground

  General: small campground (four “RV” sites and nine tent sites (plus one group tent site). Access is remote (only one 60-mile paved option and one 30-mile dirt road alternative) so you need to make sure you have filled up with gas in Carlsbad as there are no services within many miles of the campground. No cell reception at all (not unexpected). Be aware that the park is on mountain time but close enough to the central time zone border that your smartphone/watch may not display the correct time!

  Site Quality: The “RV” sites are just a gravel parking lot. Each site has a picnic table and while the sites are spaced a decent amount of distance apart, there is no physical separation between the sites. No hookups. The tent sites are walk-in. 

  Bathhouse: We were expecting a pit toilet in such a remote location but there is one men’s and one women’s bathroom with a flush toilet and sink. They were very clean. Soap dispensers but no paper towels. Although there was no hot water, the restrooms were heated, which was a nice bonus. 

  Activities: There is a .6-mile nature trail and several more challenging hiking trails. There was a horse corral behind the RV sites, but we did not see any horses while there. About 25 miles away is Sitting Bull Falls, a spring-fed waterfall that is a nice side trip. 

  We camped here because we were not able to get reservations in the other more popular campground in Guadalupe Mountains NP. Access between the two sides of the park is long (about 60 miles) so while this was a nice, comfortable campground, it is not easy to get to.

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• C

  Celina M.

  Legend

  Jun. 12, 2018

  Carlsbad KOA

  It’s a Western style KOA

  Carlsbad Caverns is amazing! Going during bat season is even more incredible, unbelievable almost. Make no mistake about the location, however. As so many KOAs are not in the town that bears their name, this KOA is no exception. It is not in the Carlsbad limits, it is 30 minutes north of Carlsbad and 1+ hour north of Carlsbad Caverns. ( not sure why another reviewer stated it was only 30 minutes away—maybe they were mistaking it for Carlsbad RV Park, which was formerly a KOA(?) no disrespect meant—people should know before they go, google maps will confirm).

  Personally, I’m not a huge fan of cram them in RV parks, but there are few options for camping around Carlsbad and they are all RV parks except for the first come first serve campground at Guadalupe National Park which stands a really good chance of being full before I could ever roll in. This KOA has all the amenities including a pool, clean showers, store, laundry, and hot meals—if you can order hours in advance. The RV sites are spacious for being an RV Park, but by no means “spacious”. They had excellent and easy pull through options and many cabins. The cabins were pricey, but cross between the camping/hotel ease of lodging; of course, visitors bring their own sleeping bags and linens.

  We found the staff was neither overly friendly nor rude. It did seem to take a very long time to process anything, however, because anytime we went into the store/check-in, we had to wait, awhile (20+ minutes). While this held true for the weekend we were there, maybe it isn’t typical? Overall, it’s a place to hang one’s hat and enjoy a campfire under the night sky. It’s also a good middle ground between Carlsbad and the Roswell area attractions if that is the goal. If the only plans are to see the national parks (Carlsbad and Guadalupe), I’d recommend considering Carlsbad RV Park—which is right on the southern edge of Carlsbad. While in town, consider checking out Fiesta Drive In Theater. It’s one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters.

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• B

  Bree W.

  Guide

  Aug. 18, 2020

  Carlsbad KOA

  Clean

  This place was clean and easy to reach. Large place with plenty of sites for hookup. Only con is that sites were very close to one another. We stopped here to go to Carlsbad caverns. It’s about an hour away from this KOA, so be sure to wake up early and arrive early to reserve first come first serve tickets for the caverns!